You probably know her as the "Ninja Lady." Or maybe you remember her from the boardroom, standing across from a pre-presidential Donald Trump. Honestly, the internet has a weird way of flattening people into two-minute clips, and for Jennifer Murphy Go Girl, that clip is usually the one that set the world on fire for all the wrong reasons in 2016.
But there is a lot more to the story than just a cringey song.
Jennifer Murphy is a former Miss Oregon USA. She was a top-ten finalist in the 2004 Miss USA pageant. She was a standout contestant on season 4 of The Apprentice. She's an entrepreneur who, for over a decade, has tried to build a female-empowerment empire under the brand "GoGirl Worldwide."
Yet, when you type her name into a search bar, the algorithm doesn't care about her work with the GoGirl Worldwide Foundation or her business seminars. It wants to talk about "I Want to Be Neenja." It’s the viral moment that won’t die, a case study in how a "good intentions" brand can collide head-first with a massive cultural tone-deafness.
The Viral Storm of Jennifer Murphy Go Girl
Let’s be real. If you’ve seen the video, you know why it went viral.
In April 2016, Murphy uploaded a video of herself performing at a private launch party for her line of Murphy beds. She was singing a song she wrote called "I Want to Be Neenja." The performance involved a heavy, caricatured Asian accent and lyrics that played on every tired stereotype in the book.
It was meant to be "funny." She called it "quirky."
The internet called it racist.
The backlash was swift and brutal. Reddit picked it up, and before she knew it, the "Go Girl" creator was the face of a national controversy. By July, she had pulled the video and issued a long apology on Facebook. She explained that she had "Asian friends" in the audience and that the song was meant to be about empowerment—about how anyone can achieve their goals if they put their mind to it.
"I promise it was not mean-spirited," she wrote at the time. "I have a big heart and I’m a goof-ball."
The problem? Most people didn't see a "goof-ball." They saw a wealthy, white former beauty queen mocking a culture to sell furniture and a lifestyle brand. It was a classic "White Fragility" moment, as some psychologists later pointed out, where the intent (to be funny) was prioritized over the actual impact (offending a whole community).
From the Boardroom to "GoGirl"
Before the "Neenja" debacle, Murphy was actually a rising star in the reality TV and business world.
She was 26 when she appeared on The Apprentice. Trump famously liked her—maybe a little too much. Recent books and reports have detailed how Trump was "fixated" on her, even offering her jobs at his golf courses and the Miss Universe organization after she was "fired" in week six.
She turned him down. She wanted to be her own boss.
That’s where Jennifer Murphy Go Girl really started. She moved to Los Angeles and launched GoGirl Worldwide. The goal was big:
- GoGirl Magazine
- Motivational seminars
- A foundation for women's causes
- Pink Carpet parties
She was selling a specific kind of "boss babe" energy long before that term became a cliché. She drove a pink Barbie Power Wheels Jeep in her videos. She wore bright, candy-colored suits. She was trying to blend "blonde humor" with serious business advice. It was a niche, but it was her niche.
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Why the "Go Girl" Brand Still Exists
Surprisingly, the controversy didn't end her career. In fact, she leaned into it.
While many would have gone into hiding, Jennifer Murphy doubled down. She re-uploaded the "Neenja" video in 2021. She even turned the song into a full-length feature film, I Want to Be NEENJA!, which ended up on streaming platforms like Tubi and Prime Video.
It’s a fascinating, if confusing, pivot.
She transformed a moment of public shaming into the foundation of her content strategy. Today, her YouTube channel has over 130,000 subscribers. She still posts every Wednesday. She still uses the "Go Girl" moniker to host shows, interview doctors about "glow-ups," and promote her various ventures.
She essentially chose to ignore the critics.
There’s a strange resilience there. Whether you think she’s a misunderstood comedian or someone who simply refuses to learn from her mistakes, she has managed to keep the GoGirl brand alive in a world that usually cancels people for far less.
What Most People Miss About the Brand
If you look past the viral song, the GoGirl movement is actually a very traditional "self-help" platform.
She talks a lot about "living life on purpose." She shares stories about her own struggles—her divorce from celebrity dentist Bill Dorfman, her bouts with depression, and the "void" she felt even when she had money and fame.
It’s the classic "I had it all and lost it, so now I can teach you" narrative.
Her audience seems to appreciate the transparency. They don't see the "racist" video as the defining moment of her life; they see a woman who is "unapologetically herself." It’s a reminder that the internet is not a monolith. There are pockets of the web where the outrage of 2016 never really landed, or where it was dismissed as "PC culture" gone mad.
Actionable Insights: Lessons from the Go Girl Saga
If you’re a creator or a brand builder, the story of Jennifer Murphy Go Girl offers some pretty stark lessons.
Intent vs. Impact: No matter how "good" your heart is, the audience determines the meaning of your content. If you’re playing with cultural stereotypes, expect a firestorm. There is no "context" that makes a fake accent okay in a globalized, digital world.
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The "Uncancelable" Strategy: If you own your platform and your audience is loyal, "cancellation" is often a choice. Murphy didn't wait for permission to come back; she just never left.
Brand Consistency: Despite the noise, she stuck to the "Go Girl" aesthetic—pink, bubbly, and relentless. This consistency helped her retain a core group of followers who recognized her "character" even when the rest of the world was mocking it.
Niche over Mass Appeal: You don't need the whole world to like you. You just need a specific group to keep clicking. Murphy’s shift from mainstream Miss USA finalist to a "quirky" YouTube personality is a textbook example of finding a niche and staying there.
The saga of Jennifer Murphy is a weird mix of old-school pageantry, early-2000s reality TV, and modern viral infamy. She remains a polarizing figure, but she’s also a reminder that in the creator economy, the only thing worse than being hated is being forgotten. And Jennifer Murphy has made sure that "Go Girl" is a name people still remember.
To move forward with your own brand or content strategy, focus on auditing your past "edgy" content for modern sensibilities while maintaining the core "why" behind your brand. Understanding the line between "quirky" and "offensive" is the difference between building a legacy and becoming a meme.